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East Texas Flavor
What Is Unseen is a tender, character-driven story set in East Texas, where three lives intertwined by loss and moral struggle seek redemption and meaning amid faith, pain, and unseen grace. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
I live in East Texas. I have seen these stories manifested in the lives of people I know. The culture, in its own unique way, has common threads with other human joys and struggles throughout time. I wanted people to hear these stories in a compelling and literary fashion with a uniquely East Texas flavor. I also want to share these stories with my grandchildren and generations to come.
What were some driving ideals behind your character’s development?
Hope, faith, love, fortitude, courage, justice, and kindness.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I was primarily interested in showing how the East Texas heroes in this story used the driving ideals mentioned above to combat the following evils:
Envy
Greed
Racism
Corruption
Pride
Laziness
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
An anthology of short stories, Tales from the Texas Timberlands, Volume 2.
It should be available by May 2026.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website | Amazon
Living with his family in Connecticut had been his life. Without her, he has no hope. His mother invites him and the children to live with her in Three Oaks, Texas, his hometown. In Three Oaks, he finds renewed friendships, spiritual awakening and love. But he, his friends and his newfound love are also battered by the unseen evils of self-centeredness, envy, jealousy, greed, racism, power-grabbing and political corruption.
Kyle discovers an unseen hope and with his friends leads the battle to overcome the evil pervading their community.
What Is Unseen
J. Andrew Rice’s What Is Unseen weaves together the stories of people wrestling with grief, faith, morality, and redemption in small-town Texas. The novel follows several characters, Kyle Luman, a grieving widower; Phylicia Jones, a civil rights attorney returning home after loss; and Ben Mueller, a hardworking man dealing with betrayal and corruption. Their paths cross in a world where hope and pain walk hand in hand, and where unseen forces, faith, conscience, and community, shape every life. The story unfolds gently, yet it builds momentum through layered perspectives and a shared struggle for meaning. Rice uses East Texas not just as a backdrop but as a living presence, a place heavy with history, heat, and hidden grace.
Reading this book hit me harder than I expected. The writing has an easy rhythm, simple but deep, like someone telling you their story over coffee on a quiet porch. Rice doesn’t rush his characters or their pain, and that patience made me care about them. Kyle’s loss felt real, almost raw, and his slow climb out of grief was both painful and uplifting. The dialogue felt like a homegrown conversation, unpretentious and familiar. At times, though, the story takes its time, and some descriptions felt more like journal entries than storytelling. Still, there’s beauty in the way Rice captures human resilience. The message about hope, faith, and the unseen hand that steadies us is one that sticks with you.
I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to feel so attached to these people. Rice brings out a kind of emotional honesty that sneaks up on you. The novel reminded me that good and bad often live side by side, and sometimes the right thing is murky, not shining. The characters are flawed, sometimes unlikeable, but always relatable. There’s something tender about that. The way grief meets faith, how bitterness bends toward forgiveness, it all feels earned, not forced. The story doesn’t preach, but it does nudge you toward reflection. It made me think about what I hold onto and what I let go of.
I’d recommend What Is Unseen to anyone who likes stories about redemption, faith, or small-town life with real heart. It’s perfect for readers who enjoy character-driven fiction and don’t mind a slow burn. This isn’t a thriller or a love story, it’s a quiet journey through brokenness toward light. For those who’ve lost something or someone and are still figuring out what comes next, this book will feel like a friend.
Pages: 364 | ASIN: B0F861FZ9Z
Live What You Beleive
Seeds of Bliss follows a man living in rural East Texas who relies on faith to get through troubling times that those in his hometown are facing. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
There are many examples of men in my part of Texas who live what they believe. They are not perfect people, but life has deep meaning to them. Each day is permeated with existential experiences. Some of this story is autobiographical. I am writing what I know.
Are there any emotions or memories from your own life that you put into your character’s life?
I think the love of community is a big part of my life, as it is in Scott Mitchum’s life. Memories of East Texas forests, characters, football games and churches are all a part of my past. The trips to Galveston have been numerous in my life, also.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
The theme of living what a person believes, especially the spiritual motivation in mental, emotional and physical decisions, is the most important theme to me.
What is the next book that you are working on, and when will it be available?
I am working on a volume of East Texas short stories and another novel about East Texas. I hope to have at least one of them published this year.
Author Links: GoodReads | Facebook | Website
Seeds of Bliss is about the East Texas town of Lyric, its triumphs and its struggles, and the people who are an integral part of it. The novel focuses on a hometown man, Scott Mitchum, and his daily goal to live out his faith in God, how he translates it into practical actions which he inoculates into his relationships and his will to survive and thrive. The story includes other characters who are positively influenced by Scott, and those who wish him harm primarily because they don’t like him. The setting and plot are filled with the environment, the culture, the humor, and the danger of East Texas.
Seeds of Bliss
Seeds of Bliss, by J. Andrew Rice, offers a multi-faceted exploration of life in a rural East Texas community called Lyric. This narrative delves into a spectrum of themes, including rural existence, mortality, interpersonal relationships, and racial dynamics, all while threading a significant focus on Christianity, belief systems, and faith.
The plot is set in motion with the disappearance of a college student named Amy, an event that serves as a catalyst for unfolding the deeper layers of Lyric and its inhabitants. The author artfully navigates the interplay of religion and everyday life, particularly highlighting how faith is a source of strength during challenging times. This is exemplified in the bond between characters Scott and Robert, and through engaging theological dialogues that encompass a variety of perspectives, including end-times theories and the differing worldviews of Christians and atheists.
Rice’s narrative achieves a commendable balance, juxtaposing serious themes with lighter elements. The setting in Texas is not just a backdrop but a vibrant character in itself, offering insights into the state’s culture, the significance of football, and the nuances of rural life. Concurrently, the story does not shy away from addressing complex issues such as racial tensions, particularly in relation to the character Jesse’s professional journey. This book is a rich and substantial read, perfect for those who savor an immersive, character-driven experience. Its detailed descriptive style adds depth, enhancing the novel’s engaging exploration of diverse theological concepts within an imaginative fictional framework.
Seeds of Bliss is a captivating choice for readers who appreciate drama-filled narratives set within a religious context, as it offers an insightful journey into the complexities of faith and community life in a charming small-town Texas setting.
Page: 353 | ASIN : B0BXMZ7SPK
LITERARY TITAN 